At this point, Boston fans are thrilled the team has homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. That’s because the Celtics can’t buy a victory on the road.

Cleveland (50-41 straight up, 43-48 against the spread) hung a fourth consecutive road defeat on the C’s in Game 3 Saturday night. The Cavs, who now trail Boston 2-1 in this best-of-seven Eastern semifinals clash, captured a 108-84 win as two-point favorites. The 192 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 178-point total.

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Delonte West drilled 4-of-6 shots from 3-point land en route to a 21-point effort to pace the winners. Ben Wallace, who wasn’t supposed to play due to dizziness caused by an inner ear infection, provided a huge spark in 28 minutes of action. Wallace finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds, two blocks, two assists, one steal and just one turnover.

LeBron James continued to struggle with his shot, making just 5-of-16 attempts. However, he did knock down 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc and played an excellent floor game. James had 21 points, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals, three blocks and only two turnovers.

Joe Smith gave Cleveland a huge lift off the bench. The former No. 1 pick in the draft missed only one of his eight shots from the field, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes of play. Wally Szczerbiak remained productive offensively, producing 16 points.

Kevin Garnett had 17 points and nine boards in defeat, while James Posey chipped in 11 points off the bench. Paul Pierce had 14 points and Ray Allen finished with 10, but the duo combined to miss 13 of its 20 shots from the field.

Rajon Rondo and Sam Cassell were especially ineffective at the point guard position. Both players have played at a significantly lower level for the Celtics when they go on the road in these playoffs. Cassell and Rondo combined for just eight points, two assists and three rebounds, draining just 3-of-16 attempts from the floor.

Boston (72-20 SU, 57-33 ATS) didn’t have these road woes during the regular season. In fact, the Celtics are 31-14 SU and 27-17 ATS in spite of the four-game road slump. (They lost three in a row at Atlanta in the first round.)

Mike Brown’s squad is 30-15 SU at home, but the Cavs are an abysmal 18-27 ATS at QuickenLoans Arena.

For Game 4, Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Cleveland as a 1 ½-point favorite with a 180-point tally. Since LVSC sent out the number, most spots have adjusted the Cavs to two (or even 2 ½) with the total at 182. Some books have the Celtics available at plus 115 on the money line (risk $100 to win $115).

The ‘under’ easily cashed in Games 1 and 2 in Boston, but Game 3 saw an ‘over’ for the first time. For the season, the ‘under’ is 26-18-1 for the Cavs at home. However, the Celtics have seen the ‘over’ go 23-22 in their road outings.

Tip-off is scheduled for tonight at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. TNT will provide television coverage.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Utah drew even with L.A. at 2-2 thanks to Sunday’s 123-115 win in Game 5. The Jazz took the cash as two-point favorites, while the 238 combined points went ‘over’ the 211-point total. Deron Williams was sensational, scoring 29 points and dishing out 14 assists.

--I love the way Lamar Odom is playing right now – simultaneously tenacious, assertive and unselfish. Odom’s stat line in Game 4 looked like this: 26 points, 10-18 FGA, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assists and zero turnovers.

--Kobe is such a childish drama queen. If his back was so hurt, why did he attempt 33 shots from the field? Why would he attempt 10 shots from 3-point range (missing nine in the process) if he was in so much pain?

--Kobe Prediction: When the series goes back to Utah for Game 6, he’s going to act like he has the flu like Jordan did against the Jazz in 1997.

--San Antonio spanked New Orleans by a 100-80 count as a five-point favorite in Game 4. The series is now even at 2-2 going back to the Crescent City for Game 5 on Tuesday.

--Hornets center Tyson Chandler had just two points and four rebounds in Game 4. The ‘over/under’ prop for Chandler at some books was 20 ½, making the ‘under’ an easy winner in those wagers. Peja Stojakovic was equally as ineffective with just six points on 3-of-9 shooting. Bruce Bowen took the honors of shutting down Peja, who came nowhere close to matching Bowen’s intensity.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.